Hurricane Nolo Flight Waivers Cover Kona and Hilo, but Every Airline Drew Different Lines

Hawaiian and Alaska, Southwest, Delta, United and American have all issued Hurricane Nolo travel waivers for Hawaii, with tropical storm conditions expected on the Big Island from late Friday, September 25, 2026. Each lets affected passengers move their flights, but no two waivers cover the same airports or dates.

That matters most at Hilo and Kona, the main airports on the island nearest the storm, where only some of the waivers apply.

Where Nolo is heading

At 11 p.m. Hawaii time on Thursday, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center placed Nolo about 240 miles (390 km) south of South Point, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph (130 km/h). It forecasts Nolo to become a major hurricane on Saturday while its center stays well south of the main islands.

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning cover Hawaii County, and a tropical storm watch covers Maui County. Hurricane conditions are possible on the Big Island by early Saturday, particularly in steep terrain.

Rain is the bigger threat. The forecast calls for 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 cm) across the eastern and southern Big Island, where Hilo sits, and warns of catastrophic, life-threatening flooding.

The western side, around Kona, is forecast 5 to 8 inches (13 to 20 cm).

What each airline’s waiver covers

The table below is taken from each airline’s own advisory page, as checked on September 25. Airlines can change these terms as the forecast shifts, so check the airline’s page before rebooking.

Airline	Airports	Original travel dates	Ticket bought by	Rebook by
Alaska and Hawaiian	Hilo (ITO)	Sep 24 to 27	Sep 23	Travel through Sep 30, no fare difference in the same cabin
Southwest	Hilo (ITO), Kona (KOA)	Sep 25 to 27	Not stated	Within 14 days of the original date, same city pair
Delta	Kona (KOA), Kahului (OGG), Honolulu (HNL)	Sep 26 to 27	Sep 24	Depart by Sep 30, fare difference waived in the same cabin
United	Kona (KOA), Kahului (OGG)	Sep 23 to 28	Sep 22	Depart Sep 22 to Oct 2, fees and fare difference waived
American	Honolulu (HNL), Kahului (OGG), Kona (KOA), Lihue (LIH)	Sep 24 to 28	Sep 23	Travel Sep 24 to Oct 2, same cabin or pay the difference; changes by Sep 28

The gaps are worth reading closely. The Alaska and Hawaiian waiver names Hilo but not Kona International Airport, while the American, Delta and United waivers name Kona but not Hilo.

American’s is the only waiver that reaches Lihue on Kauai, and it waives the change fee on every fare, Basic Economy included. Southwest lets passengers fly standby as well as rebook.

How a Hawaii airport shuts down for a storm

The sequence played out on the Big Island just six weeks ago. On August 15, as Lala moved across Hawaii Island, the Hawaii Department of Transportation closed Hilo International Airport and then closed Kona at 2 p.m.

The state closed them only after the airlines had stopped flying. HDOT said carriers had no more flights scheduled that day at Hilo or past 2 p.m. at Kona, and the TSA had already shut its checkpoints, leaving no passengers in either terminal.

Both airports reopened the next morning after runway and terminal inspections, and Hawaiian and Alaska canceled 112 interisland and 31 transpacific flights over the storm, according to Hawaii News Now.

Airliners can be routed around a hurricane, as our explainer on whether planes can fly in hurricanes covers, so a closure follows the ground operation instead. During Lala, HDOT secured both terminals and had security staff shelter in place inside them.

Kona’s runway was also closed for an emergency repair as recently as September 3. At the time of writing, HDOT had announced no Nolo closure of either Big Island airport.